


For the Greater Good

by Rainbow_Trout



Series: Whumptober 2020 [9]
Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Hostage Situations, Serious Injuries, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27077140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainbow_Trout/pseuds/Rainbow_Trout
Summary: Whumptober 2020 day nine - 'Run!'
Relationships: Matthew Casey & Kelly Severide
Series: Whumptober 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953733
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	For the Greater Good

Kelly should have known that his brother would try to pull something like this. Because he was a self-sacrificial dumb arse who had no idea what was good for him.

Well, maybe that wasn’t fair, because _technically_ they were all self-sacrificial dumb arses. They were all well aware of the dangers they faced on the job, that when they ran in to help a victim they might not walk back out. They all knew that, and it was hardly something that the academy sugar coated.

But Casey had to take it to a whole new level.

Of _course_ he did.

It had started off as a relatively usual call – a police assist for a domestic dispute. But as soon as they’d arrived at the scene, they’d realised that this was far from a regular domestic dispute. Rather, it was a full blown hostage situation.

Well, a hostage situation involving two people, but regardless, there was a loaded gun and they _really_ weren’t trained for the situation. But it had been dire, and they didn’t have time to wait for the SWAT team.

And fifty-one, being fifty-one, didn’t hesitate before offering to do everything they could to assist.

Of course, Boden had been apprehensive to send anyone in until the situation demanded it. But Casey and Severide had been damn persuasive and had eventually managed to weasel their way into the building.

For back up, they’d said.

But Boden had known that they weren’t going to stand back.

Still, he’d held his breath and waited as Severide and Casey had disappeared from his view, hoping that they would keep out of trouble.

A desire that had proved to be moot.

The husband had clearly been drug affected, still holding his wife-who-was-pregnant-with-someone-else’s-baby-and-was-now-in-labour at gun point. Casey hadn’t liked that at all and had wasted no time in forming a plan. If he could get into the room, he could hopefully distract the man… allowing Severide to come in and get the woman out.

Kelly hadn’t been on board. He wanted to be clear on that. But he also understood Casey’s urgency. Because a woman was pregnant, and he honestly felt the exact same way, even though he knew how damn dangerous the plan was.

And so, after some more persuasion and some more brainstorming, Casey had managed to convince him. Managed to convince him that they’d both be safe, and that they’d both get out along with the pregnant lady.

How wrong he’d been.

It had started off fine, with Casey entering the room. But the man had clearly been more capable of competent thought than either of them had hoped. Within moments – and in a scuffle that Severide honestly still didn’t understand – the woman had been pushed out the door, the man yelling out in frustration as he lost sight of her. Severide had briefly seen his friend running towards the man, pushing him down, before the blonde gave a yelp of pain, bellowing, “Run!”

Kelly weighted up the situation at record speed. He wanted to stay with Casey; of course he did. But he could hear the cries of pain in the hallway, the whimpering, and he knew if he stayed, the woman wouldn’t get anywhere. He’d be held captive too, and Boden would only have to send someone else in.

By which stage, it would all be too late anyway.

“I’ll come back for you, Case” he yelled, turning and heading back out in the hall. He felt every part as though he was abandoning his brother, and he threw his guilt into helping the woman, putting his hands under her armpits as he lifted.

She has a hard time getting her legs under herself, but it was obvious that she was trying. Kelly then rushed them out of there, freezing when he heard a gun shot.

Fuck.

A big part of him wanted to run back, to make sure that Casey was okay. But he knew that he couldn’t... if Casey was impeded, the man would be coming... and all the blondes efforts would have been in vain.

No. He brushed that off. He couldn’t think like that.

He’d got outside just as the SWAT had arrived, assisting the lady to the ambulance. He’d then turned around, clinging to his radio and hoping for news.

Then he got it. And it wasn’t good.

Casey – or, ‘the firefighter’ as far as SWAT was calling him – had been shot through the abdomen. He was bleeding. A lot. But was apparently gripping to consciousness.

That was his Casey.

He stated pacing around, eyes fixed on the door to the building – much like everyone else’s. After what felt like an age, but was probably closer to two minutes, a group of SWAT members walked out, carrying the fallen firefighter between them. Kelly followed them to the ambulance, knowing that he’d likely be of help.

He was right as he found himself being instructed to press Casey’s abdomen, and he did his best to not let the sight of Casey bother him. The blonde was deathly pale, and his entire torso was covered in blood. If he’d been conscious when the team had found him, he was passed out now, eyes closed so Severide couldn’t see their brilliance.

The paramedics were from another house and made quick work of hooking Casey up to fluids. Soon, Severide’s hands had also been replaced by packing. They loaded him into the ambulance, before screeching off down the road, sirens blaring.

They hadn’t assisted with overhaul, a pissy Boden yelling at CPD as he sent them to the hospital. The entire situation could have been avoided, something that Boden well knew.

Once they’d arrived at the hospital, they’d all sat in to wait. This had to be one of the worst parts about being a firefighter; knowing that one of your brothers was injured but being unable to do anything about it. You could only wait and hope. Hope that you’d see them return to the house.

The only information they had was that Casey was in surgery. The bullet was still in him, and they needed to find the source of the bleeding. Given where he’d been shot, they thought it was likely his spleen, but they couldn’t yet know for sure. They also suspected that the bullet was still in him, and that was all that was saving him from bleeding out.

Kelly _fucking hated_ guns.

The wait seemed to be one of the longest that they’d every had. But then again, they all thought that every single time, because every time they had to sit there was fucking awful.

He’d been so distracted that he hadn’t even noticed the moment Will Halstead entered the room, the man offering them a tired smile. Cutting open someone you considered your friend was never easy, but Will had done it. Because he’d known it was necessary.

“Casey’s pulled through the surgery. We found the bleed – it was his spleen, but we’ve managed to repair it. We also removed the bullet, and we’ve started him on a course of antibiotics.”

They were all still holding their breaths, something that wasn’t missed by Halstead, “Guys. It’s good news… he’s gonna make a full recovery, bar any complications. He’s unbelievably lucky.”

It was more reassuring, and everyone let out a collective breath. Although, Severide was tempted to point out that being shot in the spleen still wasn’t _lucky_.

He never got the chance, though, because Halstead was moving over to him. He’d seen from the moment that he’d walked in that the squad Lieutenant wasn’t doing too well, and he wanted to do what he could to help him, “Kelly, he’s awake… and fairly lucid. You’re his medical proxy, I’m sure he could do with a friend… do you want to see him?”

He didn’t need to be asked twice.

* * *

Severide followed Will through the ICU, moving towards the room that contained Casey. The blonde would have to spend the night – at least – in the unit before he was able to be moved to a ward, simply because of the risk of his spleen rebleeding. Not that they thought it was likely, but if it _did_ , it could be fatal.

He thanked Will one last time before stepping through the door, smiling at the sight of his friend. Casey was pale, lying back in the bed, numerous IVs going into his arm and an oxygen mask secured over his face, but it was still one of the best sights that Kelly had ever seen.

The blonde seemed to be half asleep, so Kelly silently moved towards him. As he got closer, Casey’s eyes slowly opened, tiredly searching until they found Kelly’s.

“Hey, Case…”

Casey smiled, head still resting off to the side, clearly still exhausted. But he tried his best as he licked his lips, before weakly croaking, “Hi, Sev…”

That earned him one of Kelly’s trademarked gap toothed smiles, and he took a seat beside Casey’s bed, gently resting his elbows against it, “How are you going, bud?”

Matt took a moment to respond, taking the time to take stock of his body. He was still sluggish from the drugs in his system, but that wasn’t exactly a surprise. He’d woken up form surgery before, and he knew exactly how his body reacted to anaesthetic. He did feel a little bit like he was floating, and like he didn’t have the energy to move… but the drugs were so strong that he was comfortable, even in the hospital bed.

“Mmm… pretty good… kinda… bit tired. But not bad…”

Kelly snorted, and one hand moved to Casey’s shoulder, rubbing it gently, “You don’t have to lie, Case…”

Casey stared at his friend for a moment longer, before letting out a breath. Gingerly, he moved his hand to his wound, lightly covering it, “Okay… fucking hurts.”

Snorting again, Kelly shook his head, “Of course it does, bud… dunno if you can have anymore painkillers, but I can go check if you want?”

Matt just shook his head. He thought that he’d be asleep soon, and he would much prefer that Kelly stayed with him. Truthfully, he’d been scared. He’d been in pain and scared when he’d been shot, and every moment until the SWAT team had picked him up. Not that he was going to tell Kelly that. But then, he didn’t really need too.

“Okay, if you’re sure… if you want me to get some later, I can do that too. Now… have you investigated the television, yet? Don’t know what’s on, but I’m sure that we can find something.”

Tiredly, Casey nodded, still leaning against Kelly’s hand. As his eyes slipped closed, he listened to Kelly changing the channels, trying to find something to watch. He relaxed, safe with the knowledge that his friend was looking out for him. 


End file.
